1. Field of the Invention
The invention is related to the field of communication networks and, in particular, to usage control services offered by service providers.
2. Statement of the Problem
Service providers offer a variety of plans for mobile services, landline services, VoIP services, etc. There are instances where a person of authority subscribes to a service plan on behalf of another. For example, a parent may subscribe to a service plan for their child. In another example, an employer may subscribe to a service plan for an employee. The service plans may be individual or may be a shared plan. The person of authority may desire some control over how an end user utilizes services under the subscription. Thus, some service providers have implemented usage control services. Usage control services allow a party to limit the communication services that are available to an end user, such as to place a voice call, receive a voice call, send a text/multimedia message, receive a text/multimedia message, etc. For example, if a parent gives a child a cell phone, the parent may subscribe to a usage control service offered by the service provider. Usage control services such as this may also be referred to as “parent control” or “parent patrol”. Through the usage control service, the parent may specify when the child is allowed to place or receive voice calls, who the child is allowed to communicate with or not allowed to communicate with, whether the child is allowed to send or receive text/multimedia messages, etc. For instance, the parent may specify that the child is not allowed to place or receive voice calls during school hours or after 9 p.m. The parent may also specify that the child is not allowed to place toll calls (e.g., 1-900 calls), or that the child is not allowed to call a set of numbers (also referred to as a black list).
Presently, usage control services are performed within the network of the service provider. For example, when a communication attempt (e.g., voice call, text/multimedia message, etc) is received in a network element of the communication network, such as in a Mobile Switching Center (MSC) or a Short Message Service Center (SMSC), the network element determines whether the communication attempt is allowed under the usage control service. Unfortunately, only network-based solutions presently exist for usage control services.